tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646327276933239820.post1291176379411614667..comments2024-03-06T20:41:19.185-06:00Comments on TowingUtopia: Predatory Towing Is Ruining Tourism In Asheville, North CarolinaJohnny T. Utopiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15617101493541319078noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646327276933239820.post-75078230731903703982009-05-16T22:10:00.000-05:002009-05-16T22:10:00.000-05:00On my boyfriend's birthday I took him to downtown ...On my boyfriend's birthday I took him to downtown Asheville for dinner, we parked in the lot near Doc Chez where you fold your money into a tiny bundle and push it through a tiny slot with your spot # on it. We paid for our spot but the machine is not electronic so no reciepts are given. A few hours later we returned to find our car was gone. My first thought was that it had actually been stollen, but just in case I called the allsafe towing # on the sign in the parking lot, sure enough they had our car. We paid $200 cash to get our car back and when we picked it up I asked why it had been towed. The employee smirked and said "you parked in a tow away zone," I said "that's impossible, we were parked in a paid parking spot." He said "prove it," and that was that. Since our parking lot didn't give a little ticket for proof they knew they could illegally take our car without consequence. Terrible, illegal, car snatching, tow sharks. We did not return after that incident as $200 is more than we could afford for a parking space. Not to mention the creepy area they are located in, and the extreme difficulty we had finding it so we could get our car back.Anniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08198176320447925157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646327276933239820.post-74688170310502199142009-02-27T12:33:00.000-06:002009-02-27T12:33:00.000-06:00February 27, 2009Re: Predatory Towing in Asheville...February 27, 2009<BR/>Re: Predatory Towing in Asheville, NC<BR/>144 Biltmore Ave.<BR/>To whom it may concern:<BR/>I was a victim of predatory towing last night in Asheville, some friends and I stopped at the Dripolator Coffee House on Biltmore Ave, a café that I frequent. We parked in the lot that was designed for the customers of the establishments in that building. My friends and I proceeded to go into the Dripolator and order our beverages, no sooner than I had sat down, a gentleman ran into the Dripolator and exclaimed “There is a mini-van being towed”, I jumped up, ran outside, and saw our vehicle hooked up to the tow truck, mind you, not even on the bed of the tow truck yet. I yelled out, “Whoa, whoa, what are you doing? Stop it! I haven’t even been parked here for a minute yet! Let me move it, and park somewhere else” The gentleman, -and it behooves me to describe him as such- that was on the passenger side of the tow truck said, “It will be $125.00 to get your vehicle unhooked, or if we take it to the yard, it will be $175.00 and $3.00 an hour until you’re able to get it.” I stood there in disbelief for about 30 seconds, before I, again, tried to reason with this guy. Telling him that, “I work at a non-profit organization and that this is a company vehicle, and we just can’t afford to pay this!” Well, of course, he wouldn’t budge, and kept robotically repeating his previous statement. Thank God, one of my friends had a 100 dollar bill on him; I took out my last 20 dollars, and received 5 dollars from another friend. We begrudgingly paid this predator $125.00 cash and received a receipt with no company info, I, then, instructed the Shark to please include all company information, which, in turn, he wrote Davis Automotive & Towing on the top of the receipt. With our vehicle finally free, the tow truck left and the gentleman had the audacity to walk across the parking lot and get into a car that was parked directly behind ours!!! He had been sitting there the entire time, waiting on someone to park in this space! And without a murmur of warning to us about what was about to take place, he patiently waited for us to leave the parking lot and immediately called his crony to come get our vehicle.<BR/>There has got to be some law of ethics somewhere that prevents this situation from happening! This guy was parked in a parking space, taking up space for someone else to park, just waiting for the next victim! I wonder how many of these “spotters” are strategically placed around town preying on unsuspected citizens & tourists.<BR/>What can be done to prevent this from happening to others? <BR/>What’s more, what can I do to seek restitution for my own infuriating encounter?<BR/><BR/>Sincerely,<BR/><BR/><BR/>J E. Spence<BR/>Grazingpangea@yahoo.comSoundguy69https://www.blogger.com/profile/14729134597520616958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646327276933239820.post-37202961936404464742008-12-22T09:28:00.000-06:002008-12-22T09:28:00.000-06:00Asheville police just arrested two predator tow tr...Asheville police just arrested two predator tow truck drivers. They were caught in a sting. You can read more about it in our newspaper, The Asheville Citizen-Times, or on topix thread, "Two Men Charged with Illegal Towing."Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00608250998677988801noreply@blogger.com